Cannabis, used for medicinal purposes, and tobacco may be smoked by using pipes or bongs. Pipes, also called “bowls,” may be made of blown glass, ceramic, metal, plastic, and other suitable materials. A pipe typically has a receptacle (with a screen), a stem, and a mouthpiece. The leaves of the cannabis or tobacco are placed in the receptacle and burned. When the user inhales through the mouthpiece, smoke travels from the burning leaves through the bowl, stein, mouthpiece, and finally into the mouth of the user. A bong or “water pipe” is similar to a pipe, but it also has a water chamber. Smoke from the burning leaves travels through the water chamber prior to inhalation. A user typically fills the bong with water, which is used to cool the smoke. A user may then place the cannabis or tobacco leaves in the bowl, and place the bowl in the bong so that the distal end is immersed in water. The user will then place their mouth over the mouthpiece and burn the cannabis or tobacco leaves causing smoke to build up within the chamber. The user then stops burning the leaves, remove the bong, and inhale the smoke within the chamber.
Over time, a dark black and sticky organic residue may form on the inside of the pipe or bowl. The residue may contain plant matter from the tobacco, cannabis, or herbs that may have been burned and smoked with the pipe. The residue is so thick that ordinary dish soap or glass cleaner is not sufficient to clean the pipe or bowl. Furthermore, the pipes and bongs are small and are usually very difficult to scrub clean. Therefore a need exists for an effective cleaning solution that may be used for many purposes, which includes cleaning residue that may build up on the surface of smoking paraphernalia. Although the cleaning solution is described as cleaning the residue from smoking paraphernalia in the examples herein, it should be clearly understood that the cleaning solution of the present invention may be used to clean any soiled surface including, but not limited to: concrete, carpet, jewelry, metals, plastic, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass, pots and pans, ceramic, pipes, sinks, drains, etc.